Compromised Treatment
by Crazy4pinK
Summary: Sara's last day at the hospital made her realize something more than she could imagine. Post Dead Doll – What the producers didn't want us to see  the one that could have been . GSR, Greg/Sara friendship.
1. Lover's Spat

**Compromised Treatment  
**Chapter 1: Lover's Spat

Catherine collected some of the scattered clothes lying on the hospital and folded everything neatly before handing them to Grissom as he organized them inside the bag.

It was Sara's last day at the hospital after four days of pure agony dealing with needles and numerous amounts of tubes in order to revive the flow of fluids in her body. Multiple medications – from pills to syrups – have been administered to her to regain her strength. Although she had survived the hell-like predicament that Natalie Davis had put her through, she couldn't help but feel defeated.

While busy tidying the bed, Catherine shot Grissom a look. His facial expression was indecipherable as he continued stuffing the bag with Sara's personal items. After the unexpected revelation of his relationship with Sara, Catherine found herself in shock with perpetual questions unanswered. Evidently, she shared the similar mutual feelings with her fellow co-workers. How did they not see _this_ coming? They were one of the top CSI team in the country, for crying out loud! But no one from the team had the nerve to ask either him or Sara about the "affair". They thought it was none of their business, considering the fact that the "exposed" couple were immensely private people. But they just couldn't deny the fact that it was the biggest - and to quote Brass: "juicer than Grissom and Lady Heather" – revelation in the lab. As much as the team wanted more details, their attention was fully focused on doing everything to make Sara's recovery expeditious.

However, it had been almost five days and Catherine wanted – no, _demanded!_ – the answers right now.

"Gil?"

Grissom hummed, not taking his eyes off from what he was working on.

"How long, um," Catherine paused, being careful with her words. "I mean… Since when did you lift your head off that microscope?"

Grissom just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, cut that crap face, Gil! We both know what I'm talking about," said Catherine as she crossed her arms across her chest and tilted her head to one side, waiting for a decent answer. Grissom opened his mouth but no words came out of it as he did a random little gesture with his hand.

"My God, Gil!" Catherine raised her voice causing Grissom to jump a little. She converted her voice back to a normal decibel. "Look, I'm not asking a complex trigonometry question here. I'm just looking for "3 months ago" or "a year ago" or whatever."

Before he could give her a reply, a female voice from the other side of the bathroom door called his name in a quite raspy voice.

"Sara? Are you alright?" he asked.

"I, er, need to get dressed now."

Grissom glanced at Catherine as she scoffed "Saved your ass!" before fluffing the pillows in place.

He averted his eyes away from her, taking a pile of fresh clothes from the arm chair and headed inside the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and greeted Sara with a warm smile. She stood there with her damp hair; droplets of water dripping on the floor and a bathrobe draping around her shoulders; her free hand clutching the robe as she kept it around her body.

Grissom took the towel from the rack and stood behind her as he gently squeezed the excess water from her hair; the scent of Sara's shampoo dissipating around the bathroom space. He inhaled the fresh lavender scent with a hint of jasmine.

Sara carefully turned around to meet Grissom's gaze. He touched her cheek before grabbing her undergarments from a small stool beside the sink.

"Just hold onto my shoulder, okay?" he said as he knelt down in front of her holding her underwear. Sara obeyed his request and tried not to put more pressure on his shoulder as she lifted each of her legs.

"Really, Gil. You don't have to treat me as if I'm fully immobile," Sara implied softly as she looked down to him. "I managed to take a shower. I can dress myself up."

Grissom slid the underwear up her elongated legs and rested the line on her hips. He stood up and held her arm, giving them a light squeeze.

"Let me do this. I just want to make sure that you are being taken care of properly."

Sara melted to his gentle voice. Followed by his warm smile and his blue orbs shining before her, she felt her knees about give up. Luckily, his hands were still in place, securely on her arms. She simply responded with her lips slightly turning upward.

Grissom moved behind Sara and carefully released the robe from her shoulders, letting it fall straight to floor; her injured arm, bent at a 90 degree angle across her stomach, now exposed.

Sara remembered a memory from earlier this morning about her friendly argument with Grissom prior to her shower.

* * *

"_Stop being so paranoid, Grissom!" Sara exclaimed as she was sitting on the hospital bed._

"_I'm not paranoid, Sara. I'm just concerned." _

"_Gil, I feel so sticky and admit it, I smell!" she whined. "Please, let me have my shower now. By myself! I can't take it anymore!" _

_Sara then desperately continued a whiny marathon of 'pretty_ _pleases_'.

_Instead of trying to be irritated, Grissom suddenly found her stubbornness quite simply amusing and couldn't help but quietly snigger. He mentally blamed himself for insisting on having Sara in a ridiculously expensive private room with a decent shower. Little did anyone knew, it was just his excuse for not having to leave her as much as possible. _

_Sara stubbornly persisted to have a shower here at the hospital instead of having it after arriving home at Grissom's townhouse. She argued it wouldn't make much of a difference as she just wanted to eagerly lie down on their comfortable bed straight after they reach home. For the last couple of days, she endured having not properly hydrating her body. All she got was either Grissom or the nurse wiping a damp face towel on her face to her shoulders, arms and lower legs. As much as Grissom wanted to contradict he didn't want anything more to upset her._

_As their relationship developed from friends to lovers, he learned that Sara and the shower - especially bath water – had been the best of friends since college. So whenever she felt stressed or a particular case had hit her hard, Grissom would take the liberty of drawing her a nice, relaxing bath with aroma candles surrounding and soft music playing in the background – just the way she liked it. This was indeed one of Sara Sidle's weaknesses._

"_Just a few more hours my dear and I promise to draw you a bath."_

"_Few more hours? It only takes 15 minutes or less to take a quick shower!"_

"_Sara, can you set your "bulldog" personality aside until we get home?" Grissom pleaded, hoping she was fully convinced. _

"_No! I want a shower now! Please, Gil! Please!" _

_Sara's expression perfectly mirrored her words. It was no doubt an epitome of desperation; her forehead curled, her lips turned upside down and her eyes depicted a puppy dog-like, pleading to be taken home. Grissom sighed in defeat, earning Sara's infamous "Sidle Smile". Truth to be told, her whining started to him migraines._

_So he sighed "fine" as he helped her up to her feet and handing her a towel. "Just shout when you're done and I'll come and help you get dressed," he added whilst leading her to the bathroom._

_Sara stopped halfway through and gave him a sharp look. "What, are you kidding me? Grissom, I'm not disabled anymore, you know. I can get myself dressed, thank you."_

"_I think one argument is enough for one day, don't you think so too?"_

"_Ah, see now you just wanna see naked. Now I don't have a problem with that but with these scrapes and bruises -"_

_Grissom interrupted, "Since when do care about your appearance?"_

_With her mouth slightly agape, Sara scoffed, "Oh, so now you're fishing quotes from Catherine?"_

"_What?" he said obliviously._

_"Whatever!" __she cringed from the memory._

"_Sara, what is your problem?" Grissom tried to keep his voice as gentle as possible. "Do you not like being taken care of? Or is your self pride getting the better of you? You're not yet fully recovered, Sara and you know that. Physically and emotionally."_

_His words suppressed her as she fell silent, her eyes glued to him. He noticed her brown eyes glistened and he frowned. A sudden feeling of guilt dispersed on his face; hoping his words did not cross the line._

"_Sara?"_

_She shook her head with a sniff as she fought her tears back. "You're right," she chuckled, "I'm sorry. It's just that… that…"_

"_What is it, dear?"_

_She exhaled deeply, "Ok… It's funny when er… I was around 8 years of age. I remember when I was in school and I fell asleep during class." Sara smiled proudly at Grissom's dead shock reaction. He must be thinking how someone like Sara could ever fall asleep in class. _

_She continued, "My teacher sent me to the school nurse and I was examined. She said I have a bad fever and she gave me a note for my parents. Then, I got sent home… to an empty and cluttered house. Just thought my parents had another fight." Sara shrugged._

_Grissom slowly nodded, yet still perplexed. He was not sure if he was ready to listen to another story from Sara's childhood. It was good that she was sharing, but it was not the kind anecdote he wanted to hear now._

"_I figured my mom was at a friend's house, crying her guts out and my dad was out somewhere drinking. That time, my brother was still mad at me after the 'marijuana' incident – _never_ talked to me since. So the next day, I forced myself to school and ended up at the school nurse again."_

_Sara's tone was very flat, as if it wasn't a big deal to her which Grissom found very disturbing. He imagined little Sara at home that time with no one to depend on to and no one to take her at the doctor's._

"_She asked me if I've been taking some medications. I lied. Told her I thought I was feeling better. I knew my dad was never going home for about 4 days and my mom would cry herself out in the kitchen. So I asked the nurse if there were any home remedies I could follow, 'cause I knew… I'd end up taking care of myself that night."_

_As Sara continued to speak, Grissom went back to his unpleasant image of little Sara: She was alone in her bedroom, cocooned inside her duvet and shivering. He imagined her little hands wiping her forehead with lukewarm water. On her bedside table was a glass of milk and a thermometer. She was only accompanied by the dim light coming from her lamp as tears pooled her eyes from the pain._

"_Even when I was at foster care, I was left alone. But, there was this lady who was actually very nice. I liked her a lot. For the first time, since I was in the system, she was the only one who threw me a birthday party. We celebrated it, just the two of us." At this point, Sara felt her own tears fighting their way out. "But then luck was once again jinxed. I was only with her for 5 months before she died from a long term illness. She said she wanted the experience of becoming a parent before she dies; that's why she took me in."_

_Grissom didn't want to hear anymore. He took Sara's hands and cradled them in his, giving her a sympathetic look. He hated her childhood – that's a fact - and certainly didn't want her to recall them._

"_I guess…I guess, what I'm trying to say is… is that since the fights and the trips to the hospitals had started, I've learned to become independent. I was forced to grow up too quickly having to rely on myself at an early age. And now," she paused. "I mean look at this room, Gil!" Sara motioned her hand indicating the flower bouquets, 'Get Well Soon' cards and two stuffed bears around the room. "Having people to genuinely care or worried about me is just… something new, I suppose."_

_Grissom pulled her closer and lifted her chin so she can meet his gaze. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Sara. But, to me, Sara the foster child has long gone. She has… evolved somehow into a... woman with an undeniable strength, with... people she can consider as friends who truly care for her. She's now got a family to rely on when she needs it. She's not alone anymore… and most importantly, she's got someone who will _always_ ensure of that." _

_He ended his speech with a loving smile but then quickly added, "So don't ever ask him to stop caring."_

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N:** Is it just me who's slightly annoyed with the writers for not having at least one hospital scene after Sara's abduction? (same goes for with Nick on Grave Danger) Anyways, this is gonna be a short story, about 3 chapters long perhaps. Oh, and a big thank you for everyone who reviewed my first fanfic! I was so suprised to receive more than 10 reviews so thank you so much :) I hope you enjoy this one as well.


	2. Beary Touching

**Compromised Treatment  
**Chapter 2: Bear-y Touching

Reality checked up on Sara as she felt her free arm being lifted up in the air. She looked down and saw that she was already wearing a pair of sweatpants and a blouse consisting with only one sleeve so she didn't have to move her broken arm that much. Grissom was now assisting on putting her cast around her arm. He muttered a gentle 'sorry' as he heard her winced slightly.

They left the bathroom and were greeted by a smirking Greg. He kissed Sara's cheek and took her hand before saying, "Mind if I steal your girlfriend for a while, boss?"

Grissom's eyebrow lifted as Sara pursed her lips, trying to hide a smile.

Greg pulled Sara and helped her to sit on the bed. "Okay, you ready?" he asked, grinning.

"Having a heart attack is not on my list for today, Greg."

"No, no! You'll love this, I promise!"

Sara simply nodded with a hint of nervousness.

"Bring it in!" Greg yelled loud enough to reach the hallway.

Sara's breath was instantly taken away when a bear mascot – a waving 6'4 _bear_ mascot – entered the room wearing a multi-colored baseball cap and a t-shirt with the words, "_WE MISS YOU, SARA! GET WELL SOON_!" written in bold letters. Catherine and Greg watched Sara in amusement as her mouth nearly dropped on the floor. After Sara had mentally read the shirt, – her mouth still slightly ajar – she managed a smile and looked at Grissom quizzically.

"I have nothing to do with this," he admitted with wide eyes.

Just then, Archie entered the room with a bouquet of flowers.

_They're not making this easy aren't they?_ Sara thought as she remained lost for words.

"Hey Sara!" greeted by the Asian lab rat. He then scooted over to hand the bouquet to the mascot before giving Sara a hug. "Just thought I'd stop by since my girlfriend's visiting a friend here."

"I appreciate it. Thanks, Arch."

Archie stood next to Catherine as Greg led the mascot closer to Sara.

"Sara, this is Bearemy. Remember? We once went to a Build-a-Bear workshop at the mall to buy a gift for my goddaughter?"

All she can compose was a simple nod. She recalled the noises and the kids stampeding their way to the massive mascot. How Greg had done _this_, she'll never know.

"Bearemy, this is Sara."

Bearemy handed Sara the bouquet and she gladly accepted it. He placed his paws on his cheeks and titled his head from side to side before spreading his arms wide. Sara grinned like a little girl and welcomed the massive bear in her own arms. She closed her eyes as she managed a giggle. Once they were apart, Bearemy took Sara's free hand and lifted it to his mouth; Sara's first tear cascaded down her cheek.

Grissom watched the scenario in front of him. It was the first time Sara had tears of joy since her abduction. She looked happy – no doubt about it.

She was touched by the gesture.

"Oh, and here's the best part. Press his belly."

"What?"

"It's ok. Do it." Greg insisted, vigorously nodding his head.

Bearemy tapped his belly as Sara did what she was told.

"_Hang on!" _

Sara and Grissom's head jerked up as they heard Nick's grungy voice from the mascot's belly.

"_Dude, you pressed the wrong button!" _

It was Warrick.

"_Hurry up, before Ecklie catches us! And Hodges, put the brush down. We're not video taping you."_

Greg's comment from the recorder made Sara chuckle.

"_Ready!" said Nick._

"_Hey Sara!"_ _chorused Hodges, Henry and Archie._

"_We're so glad you're recovering and we hope to see you soon!" said Archie._

_Henry followed, "Get well soon, Sara! Don't outdo yourself."_

"_Hodges?"_

"_I haven't exactly prepared my speech, plus I have this problem with my throat. Sometimes deteriorates my- "_

"_What speech?" Nick said impatiently. "This isn't graduation, Hodges. Just say something nice to Sara."_

"_Alright! Um… see you at work, Sara."_

_The three CSI boys along with the two lab rats groaned in unison._

* * *

"_And… record."_

"_Hi, Sara!" _

Voices now belonged to Wendy and Mandy.

"_My, God! You go girl! I wouldn't think I'd survive from under that car!"_

"_I know, right! I admire you're strength, Sara! Looking forward to see you again here at the lab!"_

"_Get well soon!"_

* * *

"_Sara! Doc Robbins, here! I know I've already said this when I visited but, I'm so glad not to see your body in contact with my autopsy table. Heard you're out of there soon. Well, at least that's what Gil told me. Stay strong and take care, always."_

_The door creaked open. "Hey, what's going on?"_

"_Super Dave! Right on time, man!"_

"_Oh, you're recording now? Ok, um… Hi Sara! I really miss you – I mean, I miss working with you." David chuckled nervously. "Hope you got my card. That pretty much sums up my message. See you soon!"_

* * *

"_Hey cookie!"_

_Brass knew that Sara loved being called 'cookie' whenever she looked for comfort from him._

_"I know that Gil's been taking care of you ever since so… just hang in there. Don't be a pain in the ass just yet, ok? Let yourself recover before you come back to your old self. We miss you here."_

* * *

"_Hey Sara. Well, what can I say? You are _un_believable. I envy you - in a way. I sure wouldn't want to go back being the only female in the team, I mean, not that I mind having these guys to myself," Catherine chuckled. "After all, two sharp women are better than one, right?"_

Catherine was now standing behind Sara with her hand on her back. Sara looked up to her and flashed her with a thankful smile_._

* * *

"_Oh fine! I'll go first!" said Warrick before clearing his throat. "Hey, Sar! I always knew you'll win this fight. You're one tough cookie and I've always believe in your strength, girl. I know a fighter as yourself would never go down that easy. See you at work, Sara."_

Then a Texan accent dominated the recorder.

"_Sara, as I said before, we both know at that moment, it wasn't _your_ day, darlin'. I know exactly what you're going through. I've been there; I know what it feels like. Sometimes, it still haunts me, but I guess that's normal. Anyway, I want to do something different for this, so here goes…"_

They heard Nick cleared his throat then a strong melodic voice emerged from his lips.

_Just like when you have fallen  
I will be there when you rise  
In all kinds of weather  
I will be there when you rise  
Ohhh... It's the most peculiar feeling  
I don't know what's coming  
After we die  
Ohhhh...I will be there when you rise._

_"Oh no, not the singing!" _

"_Smooth move, Nick. I bet Sara's crying right now," shot Warrick._

Warrick was right. At that moment, Grissom's arm wounded around Sara's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze as she forced her emotions out – still with a smile engraved upon her lips.

"_Hey Sara! Don't cry just yet. Been saving the best for last, you know. But seriously, we hope you like our 'Get Well Soon' present, courtesy of yours truly: Greg Sanders, of course, and Archie for editing the tape. Oh and in case you're wondering, Grissom wasn't exactly a willing participant for this. Talk about overly protective of you, eh? Had me and Cath as delivery guys for his clothes. But no hard feelings. We got to snoop around his house, right Cath?" Greg laughed at his own joke. "I'm not gonna say that I'll miss you 'cause I see you everyday, but we definitely miss you here at the lab so, make sure you take care of yourself. I know how much you miss wearing latex gloves." Greg sighed. "See you soon here, Sara."_

The click of the stop button was heard and Sara was still weeping her eyes out. She never even realized that the people around her had enclosed her body into a group hug. Grissom kept his arms around Sara as Bearemy hugged the couple together.

In a few moments, Sara calmed herself down and busted into a fit of stifle giggles.

"I don't... know what to say."

"Ah, you know what they say. Action speaks louder than words," Greg said.

"No, seriously, I… I…"

Sara struggled to find the right words and ended up with: "Thank you. It's means a lot to me. This. I mean… no one has ever surprised me like th-"

"Oh, my _word_!"

The sight of the giant mascot startled the nurse as she entered the room. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt but Dr Evans would like Ms Sidle to sign some papers and –"

"Oh, you are _so_ right on time!" Greg quickly rushed towards the nurse. "Here." He offered her a camera and the nurse reluctantly accepted it. "Just click that thing right there."

"Greg! What are you doing?" asked Sara.

"This is going on the bulletin board!"

"Do I look like I want to remember that I was once hospitalized?"

"No. You look like someone who wanna remember this big chunk of fluff right here!" Greg patted the mascot's arm.

"Is everyone ready?" said the young nurse already in the position.

Sara looked at Grissom for a diversion but he only gave her a reassuring smile and caressed her back.

Greg and Archie hopped on the bed and knelt in position behind Sara. Grissom remained standing with his arm on Sara's back and his other hand on Catherine's shoulder as she joined. Sara linked her free arm with Bearemy's and the mascot posed casually with his other paw in a welcoming gesture.

The nurse did a countdown and everyone smiled – _even_ Grissom – as they heard the shutter.

Greg hopped off the bed to retrieve his camera. He stared at the photograph for a second before his loud guffaws echoed the room. Archie and Catherine scooted to see what he was laughing out loud about and found themselves imitating him. Sara, Grissom _and_ the nurse exchanged questionable looks.

"You goofheads just ruined a good picture!" Catherine exclaimed.

"Your laugh says otherwise, Cath," said Archie.

"Oh this is _definitely_ going on the bulletin board! Nice pearly whites, boss!" Greg finally decided to share. "How come you never smile like this at work?"

"There's nothing to smile about murder… Greggo."

Archie patted Greg's back. "Smooth."

"May we see the picture?"

Greg handed the camera to Sara. As soon as she saw the photo, she laughed.

Grissom couldn't bear it anymore. "Why's it a big deal whenever my lips turn upward?"

"Because they always lay flat, Gil." Catherine said in an obvious tone.

"Can I get a copy of this?" asked Sara abruptly, earning a crooked look from Grissom. She stared at the photo for longer, particularly fixing her attention to Greg and Archie's poses. Greg gave two thumbs up and showed his own pearly whites in an enormous grin while Archie grinned as well with both of his hands connected in a shape of a heart just between above Grissom and Sara's heads.

"I want to have this framed."

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N**: Build-a-Bear is like Disneyland for me! It's pure heaven! LOL Anywho, I hope this chapter lightened up your mood since as we all know, CSI Season 11 premiered last Thursday and I still can't get over the fact that Grissom and Sara are living apart! :( But no complaints about Jorja Fox coming back as a regular! (squeals) Plus, her 3 second kick-ass scene on that episode was my highlight! Who knew Sara has the fists for some smakin'? Oh and Nick's song for Sara in this chapter is called "Rise" by Will Dailey. :)


	3. Take Two

**Compromised Treatment  
**Chapter 3: Take Two

The heat of Las Vegas was just too much too bear even with the AC on its lowest temperature possible. Catherine's hands were fixed on the steering wheel, exhaling puffs of breaths. She glanced at the rear view mirror just as the traffic light turned bright red and the sight behind her got her thinking.

_These two must have been together longer than I thought. A year, maybe? I mean, something tells me that a black dress does not – nor will never - belong inside Gil Grissom's closet unless… They ought to be living together right? _

At the back seat of her SUV, Sara was in a deep slumber, cocooned in Grissom's arms which would be seemingly inappropriate to look at. His fingers were lazily drawing small circles on her back as he stared at the cars outside the window.

_This is so not them; Grissom with his public display of affection and Sara looking, well… weak, is it? _

Her thoughts suddenly drifted off when the continuous beeping sounds echoed behind her. She cursed silently before putting the car in full speed.

"Are you alright, Catherine?"

"Huh? Sure… yeah."

"Ok."

The ride from the hospital to Grissom's townhouse was relatively soundless. Catherine was greeted by the ludicrous heat as soon as her heels met the ground. She opened the back seat to let the couple out and proceeded to the trunk to get the remaining stuff. She heard Grissom faintly chanting Sara's name but no response was held. With a bag on her shoulder, she stopped at the opened door.

"Give me your keys so I can turn the AC on."

Grissom looked at the knocked up sleeping form in his arms which evidently can't be put to wake.

"What about Sara?"

Catherine flinched. "What you mean what about Sara? Be a gentleman. Pick her up. Carry her to bed. Geez, Gil! I hate this new side of you."

Leaving Grissom somewhat in a spiteful trance, Catherine took the opportunity to grab his keys lying carelessly on the car floor before strutting her way inside his house. Grissom adjusted his position several times, trying to figure out the best way to get Sara in the house without waking her up. It seemed awfully uncomfortable for him but it was not like he had never had the opportunity to pick up Sara from her feet.

He recalled the night after he took her on their third date. He pulled over to her apartment building and helped a limping Sara out of the car. She was barefooted and clutching a pair of red stilettos in her hand. He remembered her cursing all the way to the parking lot outside the restaurant, complaining how incredibly painful her feet were. Another curse, then a heel broke, and _then_ another loud curse. The whole ride home was filled with Grissom's reprimands about buying those shoes and Sara's back talks. Once they slowly approached the elevator, the sign: 'Out of Order' went clearly into view; Sara sure was even more pissed than ever. But instead of a deafening curse, a rather loud high pitched squeal was heard when Grissom swiped Sara off her feet - cradling her in his arms – and took the God-knows-how-many flights of stairs there were.

"Oh for God's sake, Gil!"

Grissom was smiling to himself and evidently didn't notice Catherine come back. He shook the memory off and looked at her.

"Here. I'll steady her and you slip your arms behind her knees and on her back." Catherine pointed slowly, as if instructing to a damn foreigner.

Grissom carefully took Sara in his arms but not after hearing Catherine's sarcastic comments. They entered the house together and Grissom went straight to the bedroom. He noticed that the bed sheet was already pulled back the pillows were arranged in a way that Sara can lie down without any difficulties.

_How long was I smiling goofily in that car?_ Grissom thought. He shrugged and gently laid Sara on the bed.

"You're on your own."

"Oh, hey."

"Already put her clothes in the hamper. I'll go get the other stuff in the car and just dump them in the living room and leave." She kissed his cheek. "Get some sleep."

And with that, Catherine was gone.

A few moments later, Grissom heard the front door creaking then shut. He took a trip around the house to get some essentials: a glass of water, Sara's medications, a face towel and a bowl of lukewarm water all placed on the bedside table. He then took the bed sheet and draped it over Sara and tucked her in. Just as he was about to shut door, he heard his name. He approached the bed and knelt beside it to meet Sara's eyes.

"Go back to sleep, dear." His voice soothed her.

"Where are we?"

"At home," he said, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.

Sara stared at him for while. "I'm really happy today."

Grissom smiled, "I know you are."

"Greg's real… he's really something."

"He cares for you. And apparently so does the whole lab."

"You were right. It's one thing for people to say that they care about you but… a whole different thing to actually feel it. And I felt it, Griss."

A tear descended from Sara eye. Grissom nodded and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"Is there anything else you need, Sara?"

She studied his face for a while and came into a conclusion that he was way more tired looking than she was. His eyes gave it all away. She knew that he had been extremely worried about her throughout the whole incident but the darker circles underneath his eyes just told her how much he loved her.

"Sleep with me."

Sara's abrupt insinuation somehow made Grissom's eyebrows to launch like a space shuttle. Smiling at his taken aback expression, (which clearly implying 'Are you insane?') she reached out to touch his cheek.

"That's not what I meant, silly. I meant, come join me here and _get_ some sleep." Her finger began tracing the dark circles under his eyes. "Something tells me you haven't slept at all. Though it was a thoughtful gesture, I'd hate to be the one responsible for your migraines. And besides…"

Grissom looked at her pleading eyes.

"… I missed your presence in bed with me."

Sara needed to say no more when Grissom kicked his shoes off and stripped down to a plain t-shirt and boxers. He mimicked Sara's position: just lying perfectly still on the soft mattress, but his hands were slightly twitching, aching to hold her without hurting her in any way.

"I hate this stupid cast!" Sara declared as if she had read his mind. "I can't lie in bed with you the way I used to. I feel like I'm in a damn sarcophagus! You might as well wrap me up with some tissues."

"Hmm, and I'm certainly missing your vicious snuggling."

"So I've heard." Sara eyes averted the ceiling to look at him. "My parents constantly kept saying that when I was younger. You know you can always wake me up whenever that happens. I warned you about it, remember? I don't want you to feel like I'm some 500 pound woman invading your space."

"It wasn't being sarcastic, Sara. I never said I didn't like it, nor I'm complaining."

They spent the last few minutes just reading each other's eyes then Grissom leaned forward to capture her lips in a slow, lustful kiss. For someone who had been knocked out almost an hour ago, Sara returned the kiss with equal fervor.

"Sleep?"

With her eyes still closed, she nodded and felt Grissom's arm snaking across her stomach.

His breath nuzzled against her neck. "Rest well, my dear."

* * *

Gil Grissom stood thoughtfully in front of a furnished mahogany cabinet while his eyes admired the assortment of displays that Sara had organized on the shelves. The first bottom had all his entomology textbooks, neatly organized by volumes. On top of that were Sara's forensic journals. The third row proudly showed off both of their earned (glass-framed) work certificates, including Grissom's honorary (computer-printed) certificate of the Trigger. The top shelf was photographs which Grissom had picked out personally. On the right side was a framed portrait of him and on the right was of Sara's. In between was a bigger portrait of a little boy with big piercing blue eyes, dark hair and a gap-toothed smile. In front of the portraits was Sara's personal favorite. He took it in his hands and smoothed his fingers across the image.

_Sara's Bear-y Cute Surprise  
__September 2007 _

The words were engraved on the silver frame just below the photo.

Just then, Grissom felt a continuous tug on his pants and looked down to see the little blue-eyed boy with a Spiderman toy in his hand.

"You said we're gonna visit mommy at the hospital." He quickly noticed the picture in Grissom's hand. "What's that?"

Grissom set the photo back on the shelf and picked up the boy in his arms.

"What's that thing on mommy's arm?"

"It's a cast. Doctors use it to wrap a part of your body when you're injured. Mommy had a broken bone at that time."

The little boy frowned. "Why? Was mommy in a fight?"

Grissom suddenly felt uncomfortable trying to find the right words. He didn't want to tell him that his mother was pinned under a car and left to die.

"Um, yeah, you could say that she was in a fight."

"Why is there a bear?"

"Your uncle Greg brought him to cheer mommy up."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, it did."

Grissom glanced at the wall clock and set the kid back to the floor. "Go get your sweater and we'll go see Mommy, now."

He waited inside the car then few minutes later, the passenger door was opened.

"What'cha got there?"

"A card for Mommy," replied the little boy.

=x=x=

_Dearest Mommy,_

_Daddy told me to pray every night for angels to come and make you feel better._

_When you come home, daddy and I will make you as many strawberry pancakes as you want._

_Get well soon, mommy!_

_Love always from,_

_Dylan, Daddy Gil and Hank._

Sara closed the card and fixed her watery eyes at the two boys – _her_ two precious boys. When her mouth opened to say something, she choked on an involuntary sob instead.

"Lindsey made the card but I did the drawings and the writing. Daddy told me once that you're his special butterfly so I told Lindsey to make a butterfly-shaped card," explained the four year old boy.

Sara hugged her son tightly as she could. One thing she loved about Dylan was how much he resembled his father's way of deliberately surprising her.

"Mommy – can't – breathe!"

Sara giggled, "I'm sorry, baby. And thank you. That was very thoughtful of you."

"You're welcome!"

Grissom draped an arm around his wife's shoulders and kissed the top of her head, causing her to look up to him.

"Any news on my shooter?"

"Jim should be able to tell anytime soon. But Nick found the gun used to shoot you and the deceased."

Sara nodded.

"You know, normally, I'd ask you to quit your job by now."

She curled her forehead and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I almost lost you twice, Sara. This would be the third time."

"I think you miscalculated, Gil. Let's see. There's Natalie… and _now_ this weird Caucasian guy–"

"And Adam Trent."

Sara sat frozen. The name jogged her memory as if it had happen just yesterday.

"Oh."

Grissom sat beside her and took her face his palms. "But, I won't. I don't want you to think of me as a paranoid controlling-"

"I don't blame you, Gil." Sara sighed. "Truth to be told, I'll consider it too if it was you."

Grissom nodded. "Glad we're on the same page."

Little Dylan, who had no idea whatsoever what was happening, decided to join the conversation. "Same page? We're not reading books right now, dad."

Grissom and Sara looked at their son, remembering he was still in the room.

Sara smiled, "No honey. What that means is that Daddy and I understand and agree with each other."

Grissom directed at his frowning son. "Like when you say Mommy is most beautiful woman in the world, I would say, '_Glad we're on the same page'._"

Sara – without hesitation - rolled her eyes at Grissom's ever so lame example. "Is that one of your cheesy proposals for trying to get laid, huh, Gil?"

Grissom shrugged innocently and was about to reply but his son had beat him to it.

"Daddy, can you give another example so I can understand too what Mommy just said?"

**END**

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**A/N:** And that's a wrap. I hope you guys enjoyed this mini-story. I certainly did have fun writing it. Hopefully an idea pops up for a new story. Stay tuned! :)


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